Devils with one last chance to beat rival Rangers

It’s still the start of a busy week for the Devils even as the end of the regular season grows close.

New York Rangers' Chris Kreider plays during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Minnesota Wild Saturday, March 18, 2017, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)(Photo: Jim Mone, AP)

The Devils have 11 games left in 2016-17 and are three games into a stretch of eight games over 13 days after Sunday afternoon’s 4-1 loss to the Blue Jackets at Prudential Center. That stretch continues on Tuesday as the Devils host the rival Rangers.

Monday’s schedule brings an 11 a.m. practice at The Rock.

The Devils’ tragic number for playoff elimination – an inevitability as they sit last in the Eastern Conference – is seven. That’s any combination of points lost by the Devils or points gained by the team in the second and final wild-card spot in the conference, currently the Maple Leafs.

In addition to hosting the Rangers on Tuesday, the Devils are at Toronto on Thursday, then host the Hurricanes and Stars on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

But, first things first, and that’s the latest installment in the Devils-Rangers’ rivalry.

“It’s always a big game when we play them,” goalie Cory Schneider said. “We’ve got to fight here and play for some pride. Beating them would feel pretty good at the end of the year. We haven’t had a lot of reasons to feel good about things. It’s on us. We’ve just got to keep sticking with it and finding ways to win games here.”

The Devils certainly do not want to be swept in the season series by the Rangers as they have yet to beat them in three tries so far.

The teams played on back to back Sundays in December, with the Devils losing 5-0 on Dec. 11 as Antti Raanta started a third straight game over a healthy Henrik Lundqvist and dropped a 3-2 shootout a week later after Derek Stepan tied the game with 1:13 left in regulation with Lundqvist off for an extra skater. Then, the Devils lost 4-3 in overtime at The Rock on Feb. 25. In that one, Kyle Palmieri scored twice in the first 1:14 of the third period to put the Devils up 3-2 after the Rangers had taken a two-goal lead in the first period. Adam Clendening’s one-timer tied the game at 15:35 of the third period and Mika Zibanejad won it at 1:16 of overtime.

“Any time we play any rivals, whether it’s the Flyers, Islanders or Rangers, it’s going to be a great game,” said rookie defenseman Steven Santini, who grew up in Mahopac, N.Y., not too far from where the Rangers practice in Greenburgh, N.Y.